Marengo a la Shako Concluded

Very happy to conclude this game, being on the winning side made it all the better.  Same line up as the previous Sunday, but we were joined by Simon who made an excellent Desaix.

This is the flank I commanded.

The Austrian cavalry are massing for another assault,

while their grenadiers are pressing hard on the French infantry.

A French unit makes a sally from Marengo to try and stop the French left flank from being cut-off.

The Guard and heavy cavalry are in Reserve behind Marengo.

Looking down the battlefield, from the Austrian left.

The French forces of Lannes and Desaix have started their attack.

The Austrians have now broken through the French left,

after the defenders were blown away by massed artillery fire.

Things are getting desperate, but reserves are in place

and some Austrian attacks have been stalled.

They are also experiencing command problems.

The final French reinforcements arrive and head for the centre.

The final situation on the French left.

Austrian reinforcements arrive to find their army moral has broken.

They had suffered heavy losses on this flank.

The French attack on the Austrian left succeeded 

and the losses they inflicted made the victory.

Marengo a la Shako

It has been a while since we gamed with some of the chaps in the Avon valley, but last Sunday Stephen N, Mark B and I joined Julian and Mark W for a recreation of the Battle of Marengo using their adaption of Shako.

Bataille de Marengo

Louis Francois Lejeune (1775-1848)

Battle of Marengo 

Mark W 2024

Mark W had organised everything and hosted it as his place.  He also umpired which was very much appreciated (my knowledge of the rules was limited and rusty at best).

Stephen N and Mark B were the Austrians while Julian and I were the French.  We knew where we started, but not really when and where our respective reinforcements would arrive.

Chambarlhac's division moves up through the town of Marengo

A magnificent charge by Rivaud's cavalry put their opponents to flight

securing the French left flank for the duration of the battle.

The Austrian right flank trying to recover after the loss of their cavalry.

The Austrians trying to make progress in the centre, using their artillery but suffering all the same.

Kellerman's cavalry can be seen redeploying to cover the French right.

Rivaud's cavalry.

Note the shadows showing that it is still morning time in the game. :-)

After routing the Austrians,

the French now face a lot, a real lot, of Austrian reinforcements.

Rivaud's cavalry, Chambarlac's division and the remanent of Gardanne's division

will have to hold on a bit longer.

Austrian grenadiers are crossing the Fontanone creek

as more of their cavalry arrive.

Meanwhile on the other side of the battlefield

both sides had brought up troops but declined to close.

Stay tuned for Part 2.

Auerstedt with the ANF

Saturday Stephen N, Mark B, Olivier and myself travelled out to the wilds of the Avon valley to join the ANF in a game of Shako recreating the 1806 battle of Auerstedt in 1/72nd scale.

My bias for the Napoleon's Battles rules should be well known and will of course colour my one sided commentary on this game.

I was Davout.

 A faceless man of the ANF completing the setup of the game.

James and Mark were Friant and Gudin (and later Morand) respectively.  Julian was Blucher.  The other NWS chaps were assorted Prussian commanders.

 Gudin is deployed in squares ready to face the Prussian cavalry that is about to appear.

 But there are a lot of Prussian infantry headed Gudin's way.

 There's Blucher leading his first cavalry charge.

This went in against the French cavalry.

 Friant has arrived.

Although his lead battalion has formed square just in case.

 Blucher's charge has been repulsed, 

but he has more from where that came from 

(the table edge)

 Blucher is busy looking for his next target

(as his previous one has withdrawn blown)

 Blucher charges one of Gudin's squares.

 Friant is a bit hemmed in by the table edge...

But Morand has just arrived
(must be around Turn 4 - possibly 10:30 - the battle started at 9:00).

 That's the town of Spielberg that Friant is fighting Blucher for.

Note the proximity of the table edge...

 Congestion at Spielberg.

Actually the French have just smashed some Prussians

and are about to hit the flank of some more.

That will teach them to use the table edge to deploy too close to the enemy.

 Things are looking good for the French.

 But the Prussians prove to have a bit more fight left in them...

 Gudin is still holding and Morand is moving up to his support.

The French cavalry is in reserve ready for any opportunities.

 The Prussians break!

?

 Non!

It is Gudin who suddenly abandons the field.

WTF?

This would never happen in Napoleon's Battles.  

Gudin would have just gone fatigued 

(basically held in place, not going closer to the enemy).

 Time for desperate French cavalry charges.

 All of which failed miserably as the Prussians, 

despite being staggered and in line, 

managed to form square.

Friant is holding Spielberg, but the Prussians hold Hassenhausen.

And at this crucial stage I had to take my fellow NWS players home and leave the game to the ANF to finish.  What will be the outcome?

Jena

Yesterday, along with Mark B and Stephen N, I participated in the ANF's refight of Jena.  I was Soult and this post is very much my segment of the battle.  Mark B was Lannes and was very busy.  James was the other French player.  The Prussians were Mark W, Julian and Stephen.

 Starting positions.

I had eight battalions of infantry, three regiments of cavalry and five batteries.

You can see part of it already on the table at the bottom of the photo.

 And here is all of it about to receive a charge from some Prussian cavalry.

 The Horse Artillery attached to my cavalry division caused a lot of damage to the Prussian cavalry.

 In they went.

I have to say melees really benefit from being marked with cotton wool to give them some gravitas.

The Prussians occupied Neckowitz (I'm guessing that was the name of the village, my map is very black).  However they pulled out shortly after.

 My cavalry won and was pulled back to recover.

I do like using special figures to denote unit status.

 But wait, there's more!

Another Prussian cavalry unit attacks.

 I was lucky that time and was able to beat them off.

Meanwhile my infantry was advancing on the other side of Neckowitz.

 The Prussian cavalry has rallied, but is about to be obliterated by French artillery.

French skirmishers have started to engage the main Prussian force that I am facing.

 A bit of the bigger picture.  

I am very much a self contained corner of the battlefield.

Lannes has smashed the Prussians he was facing over on my left.

 I pushed a battalion into Neckowitz.

The Prussians then advanced aggressively, 

except for one battalion that was left covering their rear in square.

 The Prussian grenadiers made short work of the French defenders of Neckowitz.

 On the Prussian right my troops routed their battalion.  

In the centre my guys kept getting pushed back.  

Artillery was being used to blast the Prussians out of Neckowitz.

 Just to give some context, to the left of my engagement, 

the French are surging forward.

 Again we attack, but get pushed back before we can close.

 The Prussian square suffered from artillery fire and the rules insisted it be charged.

I threw a six to the Prussian one.  Victory!

 And my troops were able to follow up into the backs of these fleeing Prussians,

destroying yet another enemy unit.

The Prussians have two battalions and a battery left,

but then it became time for us to brave the kangaroos and go home.

The Prussians had passed their morale test and so were in for some more punishment.

These big games are lots of fun and the visuals very impressive.  Shako is not my preferred Napoleonic rules and I'm now worried that I will be researching a Napoleon's Battle scenario for this battle.  I think I will need to obtain some better publications first (my Petre book coming a poor third to Napoleon's Apogee: Pascal Bressonnet's Tactical Studies 1806 - Saalfeld, Jena and Auerstadt and Jena Auerstadt: The Triumph of the Eagle by F. G. Hourtoulle).  Might be a late request to Santa coming up.  However I can't see myself sourcing Prussians in bicorns, although I do have one unit so attired that is not yet painted.

Big thanks to the ANF for organising this game and for their hospitality.